Bell jokes about the absurdity of his of ‘second to last opportunity.’

"If it's my second to last, that means after about 30 or 40 calls, I shouldn't be getting any more calls!"

Robocalls come in many flavors: debt collection, sales pitches, scams. Most are banned; only political calls enjoy a broad exemption. Most legal calls require your consent; but most that ring your handset are unsolicited.

LOCAL AUTO DIALER

The Federal Communications Commission told us some illegal robocalls originated here in Tampa. The FCC recently fined Travel Club Marketing, Inc. $2.96 million dollars for making 185 robocalls.

A man named Okie Miller owns Travel Club Marketing, and is listed in the FCC complaint. When the FCC announced the fine, he claimed I was the first to tell him about the investigation -- which began almost five years ago.

"You have no idea that for the past four years the FCC has been looking into your company for making robocalls,” I asked.

“No, none,” Miller responded.

“They say they've sent you notifications,” I noted.

“I haven't gotten any notifications," he said.

The FCC file tells a different story.

When the feds first warned Travel Club Marketing, Inc. that it could be fined, Miller must have received the notice, because he responded in writing. His 2011 letter requested a reduced punishment because he claimed a multi-million dollar fine would "cause significant harms to our company, including total corporate and financial dissolvement [sic]."

As of this writing, the FCC said Miller's $2.96 million fine remains unpaid and has been sent to federal collections.

CHRISTMAS EVE CALL

Who else makes robocalls? Golden Ticket Getaways.

How do I know? Its computer called me.

Our conversation began with an automated survey about the election. I played along with the 'bot until a human picked up and told me he was part of a well-known company.

LISTEN TO THE FULL CALL HERE:

"We are a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean," said an operator name Don.

He told me I was getting a free cruise.

"I did want to jump back on the line and congratulate you on receiving your free Bahama cruise today," he said.

Golden Ticket Getaways is not part of Royal Caribbean. It's also not scoring well with the Better Business Bureau. It gets an "F."

Whatever Don was trying to sell me might have been legal, but the robocall is questionable at best.

Even though it began with a political survey -- which is allowed by law -- the Federal Trade Commission says disguising a travel offer with a political survey is illegal.

When I explained that I was a news reporter, Don offered a peculiar response.

"You're hysterical Chris, I gotta tell you."

EASILY DONE, HARD TO ENFORCE

YouMail's Alex Quilici is not laughing.

He says federal penalties for robocalls are too lax, at the very same time making robocalls is easier and cheaper than ever.